WHAT IS STRUCTURED DATA?
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR YOUR SEO
By Andrea Volpini
SEO
WHAT IS STRUCTURED DATA IN SEO?
Structured data is metadata that describe web pages to search engines.
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LEARN MORE
STRUCTURED
STRUCTURED DATA VS UNSTRUCTURED DATA
UNSTRUCTURED
Quantitative, predefined format organized in databases, easy to search and analyze.
Qualitative, usually stored in its native format, tougher to process and comprehend.
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What is Structured Data on the WEB?
Structured data is used on the web to mark up the information on internet pages using a standard vocabulary called schema.org.
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– Developed by and for the search engines – Stable, reliable and extensible – The de-facto standard for Linked Data development – Strikes the right balance from complexity and expressiveness – Open and community-driven
WHAT IS SCHEMA.ORG?
WHAT ARE THE FORMATS OF STRUCTURED DATA?
JSON-LD
Microdata
RDFa
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Structured data can be embedded in web pages using three formats:
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JSON-LD
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a lightweight Linked Data format to easily read and write structured data on the web using open vocabularies like schema.org. It’s Google’s recommended way to embed structured data.
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JSON-LD has some advantages compared to other formats like microdata:
It doesn’t impact the existing HTML structure and tags
It can easily be reused by web developers
It does not affect the performance of the page because it can be loaded asynchronously
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In some cases, anyway, it’s ok to mix JSON-LD and microdata.
6 Tools to Test Structured Data on your Website
*The Structured Data Testing Tool by Google is about to be DISMISSED.
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Yandex Structured Data Validator
RDF Translator
Rich Results Test (by Google)
JSON-LD Playground
SEO Site Checkup
The Structured Data Testing Tool (by Google)*
Let's see some examples
HOMEPAGE markup
Use structured data on a website homepage to let Google know:
The Publisher The Publisher's logo An associated URL Contacts details The website name The tagline The URL of the website How to use the internal search engine
PRODUCT markup
Use the product schema markup on e-commerce products to let Google know:
The name of the product GTIN/SKU Prices Reviews and ratings Availability Images Brand Colour Accessories ...
DO I HAVE TO MARKUP EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT?
No, listen VERY carefully to the legendary @judithlewis 🔥
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WHY STRUCTURED DATA MATTERS IN SEO
Content in structured data is eligible for display as RICH RESULTS in search. This leads to more impressions and clicks to your site.
ADD STRUCTURED DATA TO YOUR WEBSITE
To implement structured data on your site, you can code and use formats such as JSON-LD. or you can use a solution like WordLift to automate your structured data markup.